Doing Justice in the People's Court


Book Description

Presents research findings on city courts and their processing of misdemeanors, illuminating the conditions under which bias is maximized and minimized in the lower courts.




Doing Justice


Book Description

*A New York Times Bestseller* An important overview of the way our justice system works, and why the rule of law is essential to our survival as a society—from the one-time federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, and host of the Doing Justice podcast. Preet Bharara has spent much of his life examining our legal system, pushing to make it better, and prosecuting those looking to subvert it. Bharara believes in our system and knows it must be protected, but to do so, he argues, we must also acknowledge and allow for flaws both in our justice system and in human nature. Bharara uses the many illustrative anecdotes and case histories from his storied, formidable career—the successes as well as the failures—to shed light on the realities of the legal system and the consequences of taking action. Inspiring and inspiringly written, Doing Justice gives us hope that rational and objective fact-based thinking, combined with compassion, can help us achieve truth and justice in our daily lives. Sometimes poignant and sometimes controversial, Bharara's expose is a thought-provoking, entertaining book about the need to find the humanity in our legal system as well as in our society.




The People’s Courts


Book Description

In the United States, almost 90 percent of state judges have to run in popular elections to remain on the bench. In the past decade, this peculiarly American institution has produced vicious multi-million-dollar political election campaigns and high-profile allegations of judicial bias and misconduct. The People’s Courts traces the history of judicial elections and Americans’ quest for an independent judiciary—one that would ensure fairness for all before the law—from the colonial era to the present. In the aftermath of economic disaster, nineteenth-century reformers embraced popular elections as a way to make politically appointed judges less susceptible to partisan patronage and more independent of the legislative and executive branches of government. This effort to reinforce the separation of powers and limit government succeeded in many ways, but it created new threats to judicial independence and provoked further calls for reform. Merit selection emerged as the most promising means of reducing partisan and financial influence from judicial selection. It too, however, proved vulnerable to pressure from party politics and special interest groups. Yet, as Shugerman concludes, it still has more potential for protecting judicial independence than either political appointment or popular election. The People’s Courts shows how Americans have been deeply committed to judicial independence, but that commitment has also been manipulated by special interests. By understanding our history of judicial selection, we can better protect and preserve the independence of judges from political and partisan influence.




Judith S. Kaye in Her Own Words


Book Description

An autobiography and selected writings by the former Chief Judge of New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. In 1983, Judith S. Kaye (1938–2016) became the first woman appointed to the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court. Ten years later, she became the first woman to be appointed chief judge of the court, and by the time she retired, in 2008, she was the longest-serving chief judge in the court’s history. During her long career, she distinguished herself as a lawyer, jurist, reformer, mentor, and colleague, as well as a wife and mother. Bringing together Kaye’s own autobiography, completed shortly before her death, as well as selected judicial opinions, articles, and speeches, Judith S. Kaye in Her Own Words makes clear why she left such an enduring mark upon the court, the nation, and all who knew her. The first section of the book, Kaye’s memoir, focuses primarily on her years on the Court of Appeals, the inner workings of the court, and the challenges she faced, as chief judge, in managing a court system populated by hundreds of judges and thousands of employees. The second section, a carefully chosen selection of her written opinions (and occasional dissents), reveals how she guided the law in New York State for almost a quarter century with uncommon vision and humanity. Her decisions cover every facet of New York and federal law and have often been quoted and followed nationally. The final section of the book includes selections from her numerous articles and speeches, which cover the field, from common law jurisprudence to commercial law to constitutional analysis, all with an eye to the future and, above all, how the law can best affect the everyday lives of people who come to court—willingly or unwillingly—including, not least, those most in need of the law. BACK FLAP “Judith Kaye was one of the most admired judges in the nation— and a wonderful, real, often funny person as well. This collection captures the full range of the judge and the woman, and it serves as a great reminder of her enduring legacy.” — Jeffrey Toobin “An extraordinary woman, jurist, and leader who had a striking impact on the law and the administration of justice in New York State and beyond. This collection is more than a simple record of a remarkable life. It is a treasure—not only for those of us who knew and admired Judith but for all who may seek to understand and appreciate the profound impact she had on the law, the legal profession, and the administration of justice.” — from the Foreword by Honorable Janet DiFiore




The People's Court


Book Description




The Occupation of Justice


Book Description

"This book is an updated and expanded study of the manner in which the Supreme Court of Israel has related to petitions challenging actions of the Israeli authorities in the territories occupied by Israel during the 1967 War. The first edition of the study was published two decades ago by one of the present authors, David Kretzmer. The original work was completed just before the second intifida began in September 2000. It covered decisions of the Supreme Court both during the formative years of the Court's jurisprudence on the occupation, and during the first intifada that broke out in December 1987. As stated in the preface to the first edition, the beginning of the second intifada proved that the hopes that the historic Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO (1993-1995) would lead to peace between Israel and the Palestinians and to the end of the occupation were premature. At the present time (2020) an end to direct Israeli control over the West Bank and restrictions on life in Gaza does not seem to be in sight. The so-called peace plan published by the Trump Administration in February 2020, as we were completing the manuscript, does not alter that picture, although it may contribute to changes in the regime in the West Bank. Much that has happened since the first edition was published has affected the type of cases that reach the Supreme Court, and consequently the topics covered in this study. After a wave of suicide bombings in Israel in 2001 and 2002 the IDF embarked on a military operation in the West Bank. This operation and subsequent hostilities between the IDF and armed Palestinian groups yielded a host of petitions relating to means and methods of warfare and to judicial review during active hostilities. In 2002 the Israeli government began the construction of a separation barrier in the West Bank, the declared purpose of which was to make it more difficult for potential Palestinian terrorists to enter Israel itself. The barrier's route not only spurred close to two hundred petitions to the Supreme Court; it was also the subject of an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice. In August 2005 Israel withdrew its armed forces and civilian settlements from the Gaza Strip under the Disengagement Plan, and the government announced that Israel no longer had responsibility for Gaza. Controversy arose whether Gaza remained occupied territory. In 2006 the Hamas movement gained control over Gaza and the Government of Israel declared Gaza to be 'hostile territory.' The relations between Israel and Gaza have been tense ever since, with firing of rockets and bombs on Israeli towns and villages, severe restrictions on supply of goods to Gaza and movement of people between Gaza and the West Bank, and periods of active hostilities between Israel and Gaza. Since the first edition of this study was completed there has been a dramatic expansion in the number of Israeli settlements and settlers in the West Bank. This expansion has had various legal and practical consequences, including the emergence of two different legal regimes applicable to Israelis and to Palestinians resident in the West Bank"--




Uncertain Justice


Book Description

An assessment of how the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts is significantly influencing the nation's laws and reinterpreting the Constitution includes in-depth analysis of recent rulings and their implications.




Just Help!


Book Description

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Just Ask! comes a fun and meaningful story about making the world--and your community--better, one action at a time, that asks the question: Who will you help today? Every night when Sonia goes to bed, Mami asks her the same question: How did you help today? And since Sonia wants to help her community, just like her Mami does, she always makes sure she has a good answer to Mami's question. In a story inspired by her own family's desire to help others, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor takes young readers on a journey through a neighborhood where kids and adults, activists and bus drivers, friends and strangers all help one another to build a better world for themselves and their community. With art by award-winning illustrator Angela Dominguez, this book shows how we can all help make the world a better place each and every day. Praise for Just Help!: "Generosity proves contagious in this personal portrait of community service by Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor." --Publishers Weekly "For use in civics units or in lessons on being a good neighbor, this provides wonderful encouragement to show that children can help in big and small ways." --School Library Journal




Chasing Gideon


Book Description

On March 18, 1963, in one of its most significant legal decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that all defendants facing significant jail time have the constitutional right to a free attorney if they cannot afford their own. Fifty years later, 80 percent of criminal defendants are served by public defenders. In a book that combines the sweep of history with the intimate details of individual lives and legal cases, veteran reporter Karen Houppert movingly chronicles the stories of people in all parts of the country who have relied on Gideon’s promise. There is the harrowing saga of a young man who is charged with involuntary vehicular homicide in Washington State, where overextended public defenders juggle impossible caseloads, forcing his defender to go to court to protect her own right to provide an adequate defense. In Florida, Houppert describes a public defender’s office, loaded with upward of seven hundred cases per attorney, and discovers the degree to which Clarence Earl Gideon’s promise is still unrealized. In New Orleans, she follows the case of a man imprisoned for twenty-seven years for a crime he didn’t commit, finding a public defense system already near collapse before Katrina and chronicling the harrowing months after the storm, during which overworked volunteers and students struggled to get the system working again. In Georgia, Houppert finds a mentally disabled man who is to be executed for murder, despite the best efforts of a dedicated but severely overworked and underfunded capital defender. Half a century after Anthony Lewis’s award-winning Gideon’s Trumpet brought us the story of the court case that changed the American justice system, Chasing Gideon is a crucial book that provides essential reckoning of our attempts to implement this fundamental constitutional right.




A Republic, If You Can Keep It


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Justice Neil Gorsuch reflects on his journey to the Supreme Court, the role of the judge under our Constitution, and the vital responsibility of each American to keep our republic strong. As Benjamin Franklin left the Constitutional Convention, he was reportedly asked what kind of government the founders would propose. He replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” In this book, Justice Neil Gorsuch shares personal reflections, speeches, and essays that focus on the remarkable gift the framers left us in the Constitution. Justice Gorsuch draws on his thirty-year career as a lawyer, teacher, judge, and justice to explore essential aspects our Constitution, its separation of powers, and the liberties it is designed to protect. He discusses the role of the judge in our constitutional order, and why he believes that originalism and textualism are the surest guides to interpreting our nation’s founding documents and protecting our freedoms. He explains, too, the importance of affordable access to the courts in realizing the promise of equal justice under law—while highlighting some of the challenges we face on this front today. Along the way, Justice Gorsuch reveals some of the events that have shaped his life and outlook, from his upbringing in Colorado to his Supreme Court confirmation process. And he emphasizes the pivotal roles of civic education, civil discourse, and mutual respect in maintaining a healthy republic. A Republic, If You Can Keep It offers compelling insights into Justice Gorsuch’s faith in America and its founding documents, his thoughts on our Constitution’s design and the judge’s place within it, and his beliefs about the responsibility each of us shares to sustain our distinctive republic of, by, and for “We the People.”